The Con Is On
by theonlyliverpoolninja
Summary: A young boy with the quickest of hands puts a hand into the pocket of a well-dressed man. But perhaps that well-dressed man can teach that boy how to use those hands to play with bigger stakes. Teaching a young mind not to be a crook but a Grifter.
1. The Jack

The Con Is On

You can't con an honest man - Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone

Prologue – The Dip

The Dip

To place ones hand into someone else's pocket to remove an item of value.

Pick-pocketing

Quick little hands made their way into the well-dressed man's pocket as he left the black cab.

Out came the wallet.

Harry moved from his position at the taxi rank strait into the alley.

Crouching behind the bins he removed the money and dropped the wallet on the floor. Taking off at a short jog Harry left at the other end of the alley and took off down the street. Two hundred pounds grasped tightly in fingers shoved deeply into a pocket.

The well-dressed man knelt and picked the wallet from where it lay. A smile forming on his face.

The quickest little hands he had ever seen.

No distraction. Just quick and light with perfect timing. If it hadn't been him the whole thing would have gone unnoticed. Just another easy mark.

He was defiantly going to have to visit here again.

With that thought on his mind Albert Stroller left the alley.

Perhaps he should have a talk with this young lad.


	2. The King

The Con Is On

You can't con an honest man - Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone

Prologue Part 2: A Moment

Harry fiddled with the tie as he watched the next hand being dealt. Fingers working between it and the collar, eyes shifting to the other players, fingers twitching the cards in his hand. He looked at the pile sitting in the middle of the table between him and the other three players.

He had to make a choice.

He looked to the player on his left. Watching the lips as they silently named there cards. The one on his right was focusing on each card and tapping the number out on the table. Neither had the one he wanted and that just left…

"Dudley, got any threes?"

The fat child just glared at harry while handing over the card. Harry grinned, the largest pile and the first to finish. He picked up the three marathon bars and slipped them into his jacket pocket. Next was the mars bar that he had picked from the bowl as it had gone round. Dudley's face started to go pink. He stood up, threw his cards onto the table and ran towards his mother and father.

Harry shuffled the cards back together and started to put them into order. His mind wandered to why he was here. If it hadn't been for Mrs Figg taking a holiday to Scotland he would have had to miss this christening party. The buffet seemed to hold more food than he had ever seen, probably more than he had ever eaten. He stopped shuffling the cards and let them rest in his hand.

Perhaps he should have just kept eating from the buffet instead of playing the other boys for their chocolate. After all he was going to get it from Uncle Vernon once Dudley told him how his nasty cousin had stolen his chocolate bar from him. Maybe he should give two of them to him to see if it kept his mouth shut.

"Boy" came the hissed voice from his left. He looked up to see the hand reaching for his face.

And…

And..

And.

Harry opened his eyes.

The cardboard was damp again, he'd have to find another box for tonight. He pushed himself up and tried to wipe some of the damp out of the suit jackets arms. The smell was getting worse and worse. He'd expected Vernon to be angry and leave him there for the rest of the day.

That had been three days ago.

He defiantly needed to find newer warmer clothes. Perhaps if he looked in the bins behind a clothing shop. Then there was the chippy that would give him a small bag of chips if he hung around the back door for long enough.

He needed money very soon. Perhaps he should go down to the street and try begging with some of the other homeless he'd seen sitting next to Woolworths.

As he stepped out of the alley he saw a sight that would change his life.

The man in the tracksuit shouldered the business man. The hand went into the pocket.

The world slowed as if made of treacle. So slowly the wallet was removed.

In a flash the man in the trackie was sprinting down the street. The business man trying to follow him. Harry just stood there his mind replaying what he had just seen. That's how he would live, he'd never beg behind chip shops again. He'd get off the streets and never look back.

He never did.

A/N

Next: The King and the Jack


	3. Jack fell down

The Con Is On

You can't con an honest man - Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone

Chapter 1: Jack fell down

Deep breaths that's what he needed.

His legs were burning as he went round the corner.

"Keep running Harry" came the desperate shout from behind him.

Pelting through the streets of Norwich with two thousand pounds in his shirt and a very angry pair of farmers on his tail Harry had very little reason to stop.

Multiple cons were the worst as the risks of getting caught were so much higher. Most greedy people weren't idiots and would spot a badly constructed plan, that's why running a con on more than one target needed a team rather than a single grifter.

But when Jonathan "Rubber Johnny" Stevens had called in desperate need of help Albert had agreed to come and help, something to do with Albert owing Johnny for bailing him out of his first con on British soil.

The shout had come from Johnny, the nine stone weakling was being dragged down an alley by three other farmers, his shout was unnecessary though. Harry had no intention of stopping and the tall, burly men were getting closer every second. He needed a crowd and a distraction.

The market.

Coming to a crossways he ran left instead of right. Taking him further away from his rendezvous with Albert. His natural litheness working to his advantage as he slipped round people to escape the grasping hands.

Just one street to cross, then into the market, might have to sacrifice one of the bundles of twenty's as the distraction. His safety was going to cost him five hundred pounds but you couldn't put a price on your wellbeing.

Harry crossed the edge of the pavement in a second and was bolting across the black road.

He would later remark to his friends how little it actually hurt. His perspective just changed.

There were the stalls in front of him.

And suddenly there's the cloudy sky.

And there's the road.

And there's the sky again.

Road again.

Sky again.

Road again.

Sky.

Road.

Sky.

Oh no more road.

But it seems to be raining money.

Oh it's our money.

Albert won't like that.

Maybe he will, he does laugh at the oddest things.

It's funny I feel cold and wet. Bit odd when it's not raining.

Can't seem to move. Well that doesn't matter ill just stay here, might have a doze, yeah that sounds good maybe when I wake up everything won't be so grey.

Yes just a lit… a li… al…

/

A.N.

Just a little chapter to help me get back into the swing of things.

Don't worry this story will continue, just thought I'd brake back into it and brake someone.

Let me know what you think what you want to see and hopefully the next update is longer and for this and weapon of the cross.

Be seeing you


End file.
